Not a Hero
by Pure Infinity
Summary: A new cycle begins, in a world already on the brink of disaster. Cardin Winchester is a hunter-in-training, in a world where one's semblance is more important than hard work or moral fortitude. Cardin doesn't have a semblance, doesn't work particularly hard, and possesses a very questionable morality. But you don't need to be a hero to swing a mace.
**Summary:** A new cycle begins, this time in a world that already stands on the brink of disaster. Cardin Winchester is a hunter-in-training, in a world where one's semblance is more important than hard work or moral fortitude. Cardin doesn't have a semblance, doesn't work particularly hard, and possesses a very questionable morality. He isn't a hero. But when faced with monsters who can destroy kingdoms, it's probably acceptable to be a bit of an asshole.

* * *

 **Chapter One  
** _Introducing - Cardin Winchester_

The airship shook, meeting a sudden bout of turbulence. A knot formed in my gut, and I wondered, just like everyone else no doubt was, whether it was an attack by one of _them_. But of course not - the last one has occurred so recently. Even if one of them could fly, it didn't mean...

The Endbringers don't exactly follow a schedule, though.

The moment passed, however, and the airship evened out. All of us relaxed just a bit. Me especially. Because seriously, what was I supposed to do against the Simurgh? Hit it with my mace?

My aura wouldn't protect me from a forty thousand foot drop.

"Hello, and welcome to Beacon."

My attention was drawn to a hologram representation of who I recognized as Glynda Goodwitch, a professor at Beacon. She was blonde, and wore a white dress shirt, covered by a black vest - along with a cloak colored a sharp purple, which seemed out of place when matched with the stern expression on her face.

"My name is Glynda Goodwitch. You are among a privileged few who have received the honor..."

At this point I tuned her out. I'm not exactly the smartest guy in the room - and something told me this was going to be one of those smart person speeches. Boring. Instead I focused my attention on the shapely rear of a familiar looking redhead in the crowd.

"... and your responsibilities are far greater now than they have ever been before. I hope you are prepared." Goodwitch finished.

As I thought, just a bunch of pretentious bullshit.

Still, I couldn't help but gasp in wonder alongside the rest of the students as we passed over Vale, offering a bird's eye view of the city. Down below, hundreds of people bustled about, going about their lives, safe because of the hunters that protected them.

Well... not that safe.

Finally, Beacon came into view. A whistle emanated from a guy on my right, a grungy looking punk with a dyed green mohawk. Seriously, who does he think he's fooling with that hairstyle? It doesn't make him look tough, just wannabe trying too hard.

Still, I can share the sentiment.

Beacon is beautiful. A massive, castle-like structure, centered around a clock tower - which stood proud, a monument to humanity's achievements. Or something like that.

If I'm being honest, I'm not entirely sure if I'll be able to succeed here. Sure, I had attended a hunting academy before, and had achieved decent scores - in pure battle scores, if nothing else. Prestigious schools like Beacon, however, tended to recruit based on a student's semblance. The fight with the Endbringers was too important to waste resources on lost causes who didn't even have a semblance.

That said, I didn't have one. I had gotten into Beacon on merit alone... along with my father, a retired huntsman, pulling some strings. Still, the only important thing was that I was here.

And that I would bring the entire year under my heal. I had done it before, in my old school. I had been the school's alpha. The weak shied away from me, the strong respected me, and the girls...

Well, let's just say I wasn't exactly a stranger to dealing with the fairer sex.

My name was Cardin Winchester, and I was entering Beacon fully expecting to be at the head of the pack, regardless of my lack of semblance.

After the airship had docked, however, and I was making my way to orientation, I met someone who turned my expectations upside down, had them drawn and quartered, and then burn them to a crisp. Before spitting on their bodies.

He wore no armor, but I could tell immediately that he didn't need it. Everything about him screamed **untouchable**. Strapped to his waist was a sword, but just from being in his presence I knew he had no need of it in battle. He could rip me apart with his bare hands if he wanted.

For a moment I couldn't breathe. His aura was suffocating! Blue eyes met blue eyes, and I realized furiously that he had at least a few inches on me. The blond stared me down, and I knew immediately that he found me lacking.

I hated him immediately. I respected him immediately. My place as number one dropped to number two.

"Er... hello?" He asked, his eyebrow raised. And just like that, the measuring gaze was gone. And just like that I realized I had been staring rather intently at him for several long seconds.

... Damn, I was still doing it. This guy had an aura so intimidating I couldn't even properly form a response.

Finally, I offered my hand to him. "Hey, nice to meet you. Name's Cardin Winchester."

He blinked, and then smiled, accepting my hand. "Jaune Arc."

Arc... Arc... I recognized that name. Oh well, probably nothing important.

"Sorry about, you know..." I paused. "Staring at you."

Jaune let out a low chuckle. "Don't worry about it. I tend to get that response."

Yeah, no shit. Out of my peripheral vision I actually saw one student trip over her own feet, eyes remaining locked on the blond warrior. She then got back up, and continued staring as she slowly walked past.

I then noticed that I had been shaking his hand for far longer than was appropriate. Instantly I released his hand.

"Shit, sorry," I said.

"As I said, man, don't worry about it."

Holy shit, I was acting like a fan boy or something. I had just met him, and yet I was treating him like a goddamn celebrity.

Yeah, no number one spot for me. Time to aim just below.

"So, you look... strong." I said.

Jaune tilted his head slightly. "Do you think so? I'm not entirely sure." Bull. Fucking Shit. "That said, I like to think I'll be up to par with a lot of the other students here."

If anyone else had said that, I would have looked down on them. There was something about him, however, that seemed to make anything he said come across as somewhat impressive. What was it? His posture? His tone of voice?

Whatever it was, it pushed me to be subservient to him.

"Just from observation alone, I can tell you you're probably one of the strongest first years here - if not the strongest."

That's it, Cardin. Real him in. Stay calm, stay cool.

"You really think so?"

"Trust me - I have a talent for reading people."

He offered me a bright smile.

Of course it was that moment when a red blur crashed into me, knocking me straight into Jaune. Unsurprisingly, he didn't budge an inch, but instead casually steadied both me and the red blur in a single movement.

"What the hell?"

The red blur, now steady on its feet, turned to me.

"Ah! Sorry! My sister abandoned me, and there were a bunch of people, and I just got super excited with all the weapons! I didn't mean to bump into you, promise!"

The blur, as it turned out, was a girl. Clearly a teenager, but at least a few years my junior, if I was guesstimating correctly. Hazelnut colored hair, highlighted with just a hint of red, framed a heart-shaped face. A long red cloak was wrapped around her body, covering a red tipped combat skirt.

I could admit, just for a moment, that she was a bit cute. Anger overtook this emotion quickly.

"Hey! Don't you know to watch where you're going, you dumb brat? We were in the middle of an important conversation here!"

I barely make out Jaune's whisper of, "Important conversation?"

I force myself not to flush in embarrassment, instead focusing on the girl, who - to my vindication - was now doing her best to look as small as possible.

"Didn't your mommy teach you any manners?" I ask, doing my best to make by tone sound as condescending as humanly possible.

If there was one thing I was good at, it was intimidation - bullying tactics were definitely my forte. Had been for years. This was a decent opportunity to prove my worth - and earn a place alongside the number one.

"I-"

I didn't give her the chance to continue. The point was to bombard her with insults as fast as possible, giving her no chance to defend herself.

"But seriously, how old are you, anyway? Twelve? Thirteen?"

"Fifteen-!"

"And someone let you into Beacon? Seriously, what kind of idiot would do that? You clearly don't belong here."

"Cardin."

"Are you sure you didn't just sneak onto the airship? I say this only out of concern kid, you clearly aren't-"

"Winchester. Shut... Up."

My gaze turned to Jaune Arc, who was no longer wearing a relaxed grin. Now, his eyes were cold, and his lips taking the form of a frown. A twinge of fear shot up my spine.

I looked at the girl, who had fallen to her knees at some point during my tirade, and then looked back at him.

"Jaune, don't tell me you-"

"Stop talking. Walk away. Now. Before I punch you."

I gulped, and stomped off.

Behind me, I heard the Arc speak, in a much more tender tone. "Hey there, I'm Jaune."

"... Ruby."

I snarled, as a vague pounding filled my head. It almost felt like I had been stuck in a thick fog for the past few minutes, and had only just escaped.

I glanced back at Arc, now chatting away with the girl in red.

What the hell had I been doing? Jaune Arc was clearly an idiot. I don't care how impressive he seems. Just another pathetic loser, who would one day be a foot note in the extensive autobiography of Cardin Winchester.

"Seriously," I muttered. "How did he get me stuttering though?"

I paused in front of statue, placed on display directly in the center of Beacon's courtyard. It depicted a sword wielding huntsman and an axe wielding huntress standing victoriously over a defeated beowolf.

At the base of the statue, painstakingly carved in gold lettering, was the inscription of two names. I paid no attention to the first I saw, but instantly latched on to the second.

 _Julius Arc_

Oh, that was where I recognized his last name from.

* * *

 **A/N:** So yeah, a story from the perspective of Cardin Winchester. Not unheard of, but not exactly common. The Worm element is mostly going to be focused around the mechanics of the powers, along with the entity - rather than the actual Worm universe.

I was writing this for NaNoWriMo back in November, but it didn't really take off. Alongside one of my other fics, I'm planning on making some progress on this in the near future.


End file.
